Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games. If you see something you think should be included here be sure to tweet @PitcherList to let us know. Or, if you’re a PL+ Member and part of our Discord, shout it out in the Nastiest Pitches channel.
Pablo López’s Curveball
The Twins won their 12th game in a row thanks to another majestic pitching performance from Pablo López. Minnesota’s ace struck out eight across six brilliant frames. He mixed in his elite sweeper and devastating curveball with the plus movement of his fastball to great effect. Tyler O’Neill had no chance with this perfectly executed 81 mph curve.
Casey Mize’s Four-Seam Fastball
It is great to see Casey Mize elevate his fastball with this kind of velocity and command – the Tigers youngster is developing nicely and you can see the confidence he has in his pitch mix right now. Oswaldo Cabrera goes fishing on this 96 mph heater.
Clay Holmes‘ Sinker
Yankees closer Clay Holmes nailed Zach McKinstry with back-to-back nasty two-seam fastballs to end this contest. Holmes went well beneath the plate on the preceding pitch before elevating this 97 mph sinker but running it away from the lefty. A perfect end to another outstanding outing from Holmes.
Jhoan Duran’s Four-Seam Fastball
It’s good to have Jhoan Duran back healthy and throwing heat. The young closer has come back into a great situation for the Twins this year. He was employed in the eighth inning today despite picking up saves in his first two outings, likely because the middle of the Red Sox order was up. He should tally up the saves going forward with filth like this 100 mph heater.
Jameson Taillon’s Cutter
Veteran Cubs starter Jameson Taillon is enjoying a terrific start to the season – he moved to 3-0 with a virtuoso performance across six innings, striking out seven and allowing just two hits and two walks. Taillon’s command was masterful as shown with this beautiful 85 mph cutter to fell Sal Frelick.
Jared Jones‘ Four-Seam Fastball
Another electric performance from the Pirates’ young flame-thrower Jared Jones to the tune of 10 strikeouts. Jones painted his heater on every corner of the strike zone and the Rockies hitters could do nothing about it. This vicious 99 mph four-seamer dotted and dismissed rookie Jordan Beck. Wow!
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
Kevin Gausman split-finger fastballs for days.
Tyler Glasnow’s Slider
A dominant 10-strikeout showing from the Dodgers’ new ace Tyler Glasnow consolidated his terrific start to the season. The wily-haired right-hander has been phenomenal on the mound so far in Los Angeles and this outing was no different. Last time we saw the fastball-curveball two-punch, so here is the brilliant 93 mph hard slider to make Michael Harris look silly.
John Means‘ Slider
Welcome back, John Means! The much-loved Orioles starter returned after a lengthy layoff and struck out eight across seven mesmerizing frames in which he allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter.
Logan Gilbert’s Slider
The Mariners rotation is for real and Logan Gilbert showed that once again with a stylish eight innings of shutout baseball. Gilbert struck out six and was in complete command of his arsenal. Jon Singleton had no chance with this nasty 86 mph slider.